Surprise! Texas allowing Antonio “Hands of Plaster” Margarito to fight displays once again why boxing is a frowned upon sport. In November, Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao will now face Margarito in a highly publicized pay per view, and HBO will certainly be doing a 24/7 series on this.

The sale here isn’t the fight. The sale here is the controversy and Bob Arum is certain that the fans will be dumb enough to buy that rather then this mismatch. The promotion will focus on the use of Plaster of Paris rather than avoid it. The blame will certainly be shifted, but they want that element involved in the promotion.

The Showtime Super Six tournament at 168 was great for boxing and it has gained the attention of the fans, and now that is just what we need for the 140 pound, light welterweight division. It is full of good fighters and much confusion as to which should be sitting atop. There is plenty of marketability and many good fights ready to be made, and the big winners will be the fans with this division as things begin to get sorted out.

This week in MMA, Tank Abbott made plans for yet another return to the cage, the hype surrounding James Toney and Randy Couture reached fever pitch, Fedor Emelianenko mulled future opponents and the StrikeForce canned oxygen incident was resolved.

Firstly boxer turned MMA fighter James Toney has been stepping up his trash talking ahead of his bout against former two weight UFC champion Randy Couture, and has even piqued the interest of the boxing world once more as well. Whether or not the actual fight turns out to be worth watching is beside the point at this stage as the event is guaranteed to sell well on the novelty value of Toney taking on Couture alone.

So, Hogan has been endorsing the ECW guys big time and also acted so distraught at the beat down they took at the hands of Fortune that he was contemplating quitting in a backstage vignette. Something inside me wants to see the epic swerve at Bound for Glory where the ECW guys are in trouble, Hogan comes to help but nWo-style drops the leg on Tommy Dreamer and joins Fortune to become a super faction. But I suppose in 2010 that angle would come off as a cheap attempt at recapturing the past even though I’d still like to see it.

Sports fans love to ask questions and boxing fans are no different. However, often times the questions we are asking are misplaced. I have found myself asking a few questions as a boxing fan only to realize after some contemplation that the questions themselves just may be the problem.

Is Manny Pacquiao using some kind of banned substance?

This certainly seems to be the question of the year, but of course, it is a ridiculous and short sighted question. The problem is not so much with the question, but the subject; Manny Pacquiao is irrelevant and his presence implodes the discussion before it really gets started. I have found that it is impossible to write about this issue without at least taking a cursory pass at the initial question. The answer to the question is…we don’t know. With deepest apologies to the legions of Pacquiao fans out there, very few people know the true answer to the question; that is the problem. It’s not whether he does or not; rather it is why don’t we all know?

Sports fans love to ask questions and boxing fans are no different. However, often times the questions we are asking are misplaced. I have found myself asking a few questions as a boxing fan only to realize after some contemplation that the questions themselves just may be the problem.

Is Manny Pacquiao using some kind of banned substance?

This certainly seems to be the question of the year, but of course, it is a ridiculous and short sighted question. The problem is not so much with the question, but the subject; Manny Pacquiao is irrelevant and his presence implodes the discussion before it really gets started. I have found that it is impossible to write about this issue without at least taking a cursory pass at the initial question. The answer to the question is…we don’t know. With deepest apologies to the legions of Pacquiao fans out there, very few people know the true answer to the question; that is the problem. It’s not whether he does or not; rather it is why don’t we all know?

A big mismatch in Argentina will be taking place with the Interim WBA Light Welterweight Title hanging in the balance. Marcos Maidana, 28-1, 27 KO’s, takes on former champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, 37-13-1, 22 KO’s, in a twelve round bout. They should keep the stretcher close to the ring.

“Of course I am very disappointed in this with my eyes. It’s been bothering me for a long time and I got the final decision yesterday so out course I’ve got to go out of my dream, go out of this great tournament. Of course, there’s hope in the future. I was afraid of was it the brain? Could I go blind? There’s nothing there. I’m just going to go a year, keep up my training with Jimmy, take some training camps without the sparring. The good news is that I’m not finished. But of course my dream in the Super Six is finished. That’s the way it is. I’m disappointed. But I just have to look forward now and be happy that I can fight again.”

USA boxing fans will finally get a chance to see unbeaten 6’7 heavyweight Tyson Fury (11-0, 9 KOs) on September 10 as ShoBox: The New Generation will travel to the famous York Hall in London, England in their ongoing quest to bring SHOWTIME subscribers the best young boxing prospects in action. Fury’s opponent is yet to be named and the bout is scheduled for ten. In the TV opener, jr welterweight John O’Donnell (23-1, 11 KOs) takes on Olympic Bronze medalist Terrence Cauthen (35-6, 9 KOs) over 12 rounds. Tickets for the Hennessy Sports promoted show are £35 for unreserved seats and £60 for ringside.

WWE Champion Sheamus makes his way to the ring as Monday Night Raw kicks off. Randy Orton went off on Sheamus last week when Sheamus interfered with Orton’s match, costing Orton a victory against Justin Gabriel. Sheamus says American children are spoiled brats, and proceeds to point out various children in the crowd and explain to them that they don’t deserve to watch him wrestle live in the WWE. Sheamus then says Orton is the most spoiled child of them all, and that he doesn’t deserve another title shot. Ever. Again!

There is no rest for the wicked at X Posse Productions. After the 2009 completion of FAMILY SECRET, production has began on the fourth movie, Written and Directed by Geno McGahee, “SCARY TALES,” an anthology featuring five tales that will surely scare you out of your pants.

For SCARY TALES, McGahee has recruited the best cast and crew he has ever assembled and plans to give the horror fans a 1-2 punch of quality and terror with FAMILY SECRET and SCARY TALES.

X Posse Productions is proud to announce the cast and crew of SCARY TALES…

There is a consistent comparison between boxing and the MMA, and there is also a lot of animosity between the fans of both. Usually when somebody is talking about one, they mention the other, stating that it is better for one reason or another. Fantasy matches are made pitting the best in boxing against the best in mixed martial arts, and arguments are made on both sides as to who would win and why.

A scene from “moments ago” starts off this week’s Impact with Jeff Hardy attacking Abyss, trying to get revenge for the brutal attack Abyss gave to Hardy’s good friend Rob Van Dam to end last week’s Impact. Abyss eventually takes control as the men brawl out into the Impact Zone where only the fans that have arrived early are present and the ring crew is still preparing for the show. Both men get in shots on each other with a broom handle.

RSR’s very own Web Adviser Grim received major exposure for “GRIMZ GYM,” based in Sacramento, California, which from all accounts, is doing very well. Recently, on Good Day Sacramento CW31 did a feature that even had Grim showing the reporter a few moves. Grim a supporter of “The Battle of The Badges VII” is training many of the fighters participating in the event that takes place on Saturday, August 28th.

RSR’s very own Web Adviser Grim received major exposure for “GRIMZ GYM,” based in Sacramento, California, which from all accounts, is doing very well. Recently, on Good Day Sacramento CW31 did a feature that even had Grim showing the reporter a few moves. Grim a supporter of “The Battle of The Badges VII” is training many of the fighters participating in the event that takes place on Saturday, August 28th.

In the late 1990’s the future of the heavyweight division looked very promising. HBO held several telecasts featuring the top prospects pitted against each other. Oh I miss the days when HBO was still relevant to boxing. Larry Merchant ranked the top 5 “can’t miss” prospects during one of the shows, which in order was Michael Grant, Ike Ibeabuchi, David Tua, Hasim Rahman, and Oleg Maskaev. Though you can’t always trust Merchant (he one time declared that Dominick Guinn was the best American heavyweight prospect since Riddick Bowe, yikes!), the rest of the boxing world was in agreement that we were on the verge of another golden age of heavyweight boxing.

In the late 1990’s the future of the heavyweight division looked very promising. HBO held several telecasts featuring the top prospects pitted against each other. Oh I miss the days when HBO was still relevant to boxing. Larry Merchant ranked the top 5 “can’t miss” prospects during one of the shows, which in order was Michael Grant, Ike Ibeabuchi, David Tua, Hasim Rahman, and Oleg Maskaev. Though you can’t always trust Merchant (he one time declared that Dominick Guinn was the best American heavyweight prospect since Riddick Bowe, yikes!), the rest of the boxing world was in agreement that we were on the verge of another golden age of heavyweight boxing.

On September 11th Cuban featherweight phenomenon Yuriorkis Gamboa will enter the ring for his first championship unification bout when the WBA titlist faces IBF champ Orlando Salido at The Palms Resort Casino in Las Vegas. The show will be promoted by Top Rank in association with ARENA Sports-Promotion and broadcasted live on HBO Boxing After Dark.

Former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev is scheduled to undgo surgery on his left shoulder and right wrist in September. Well-known ring physician Walter Wagner told BILD that the seven-foot Valuev would be out for six months. Not the best news for the “Russian Giant” who celebrated his 37th birthday yesterday.

After Tomasz Adamek’s decision win over Michael Grant this weekend ARENA CEO Ahmet Öner immediately called for the Polish star to fight his Cuban heavyweight sensation Odlanier Solis next. “I believe that this could be a good fight to revive the division”, said Öner.

Audley Harrison has told WBA heavyweight champion David Haye to “man up and sign” to fight in a Battle of Britain bout in November. Harrison and his promoter, Matchroom Sport managing director Eddie Hearn have been locked in talks with Adam Booth over the past weeks, with a potential fight scheduled to take place on November 13 at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Both parties have now agreed terms but Haye is yet to sign and Harrison has sent a message out to the World Champion, telling him to put pen to paper on the huge fight, and warning him that he can take the title off Haye to fulfill his dream of being world heavyweight champion.

Having conquered Europe by winning the European super middleweight title Brian Magee is edging ever closer towards a World title shot but one final hurdle remains at the National Stadium in Dublin on September 11th when he defends his European title against Roman Aramian in the main event. Magee’s sensational away triumph over Mads Larsen in Denmark to win the title has seen him recently installed as the WBA’s number one contender at super middleweight ensuring that Aramian should prove the final obstacle ahead of a world title tilt.

Lee Groves, a true boxing historian, has put together a 738 page read called: “Tales from the Vault: A Celebration of 100 Boxing Closet Classics,” bringing life to fights that have been long since forgotten.

The book is written so well, fights described so vividly that you nearly feel that you are at ringside, watching the action. When you look at a book this lengthy, you understand that presenting the subject has not been taken lightly. Groves respects the sport, respects the fighters, and obviously does this for the love of the game and for generations to come to enjoy and learn about fights that may have been permanently erased from history had it not been for this book.